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Princess Cruises has unveiled its biggest ever Australian summer program, featuring the local debut of the spectacular 3560-guest Regal Princess, the return of Grand-Class ship Sapphire Princess, and record cruise seasons in Sydney and Adelaide.

The season will be headlined by the cruise line’s youngest and largest ships – the 143,700-tonne Majestic Princess (named 2018’s Best New Cruise Ship*), returning to Australia and New Zealand for her third summer to sail alongside sister ship, the 142,200-tonne Regal Princess which will make her inaugural visit to Auckland on December 6, 2020.

The new 2020-21 program on sale from April 11, 2019 offers holidaymakers a choice of 123 cruises, with five stunning Princess ships sailing from six homeports between October 2020 and April 2021.

Princess Cruises’ Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Stuart Allison, said “This will be the biggest deployment we’ve ever had in Sydney.  Not only will this be the first time in history that Princess Cruises has deployed two Royal-Class ships from the same homeport outside Florida, but we will also have a record number of premium balcony and mini-suite staterooms available.”

“The program also signals other ‘firsts’ with the anticipated arrival of Ocean MedallionClass technology onboard Regal Princess, her maiden voyage into Auckland in December and the award-winning** ship Sapphire Princess marking her inaugural season in Melbourne,” Mr Allison explained.

Announcing details of the new program today, Princess Cruises’ Sales and Marketing Director, Nick Ferguson, said the local fleet would visit almost 80 destinations across 19 countries and increase the number of cruise days on offer to a new record.

“From short cruises visiting picturesque Australian coastal towns to exotic cruises to Papua New Guinea and Asia, the new program also includes a wide choice of roundtrip voyages to New Zealand from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, enabling guests to select a cruise based on the featured ports. Options include calls to Tauranga, Picton (for the Marlborough wine region), Akaroa and Wellington as well as Majestic Princess and Regal Princess’ first visits to the restored Lyttleton Cruise Terminal, the gateway to Christchurch,” Mr Ferguson said.

Also speaking today, Princess Cruises’ Destinations Director, Michael Mihajlov, said the line was pioneering partnerships with regional experts in response to demand for meaningful and authentic tourism experiences.

“Princess Cruises’ 2020-21 program features visits to 14 UNESCO World Heritage sites and offers a range of cruises with late night departures. To ensure our guests enjoy immersive, culturally rich experiences during their  extended time ashore, we’ve expanded our global Local Connections program in Australia and New Zealand – demonstrating  Princess Cruises’ commitment to sustainable tourism and how the benefit of cruise tourism can be felt well beyond the ports our ships visit,” Mr Mihajlov said.

“Princess will continue to invest in local experts who will deliver meaningful and bespoke, boutique experiences to our guests as it’s these local artisans and cultural leaders who bring a destination to life.”

Additional highlights of the new program include:

  • Regal Princess’ maiden voyage from Sydney to New Zealand taking in some of the region’s most beautiful ports including Bay of Islands, Auckland, Picton (Marlborough Wine Region), Christchurch (Lyttleton), Dunedin and Fiordland. Fares for the 13-night cruise start from NZ$2,319 per person twin share departing on December 2, 2020.
  • Fares for a 12-night cruise departing from Sydney to Auckland on Regal Princess start from NZ$2,259 per person twin share departing on January 22, 2021.
  • An unprecedented 20 cruises to and from Adelaide – a move that represents the biggest ever cruise industry commitment to South Australia. The deployment features six roundtrip cruises from Adelaide on Sea Princess and Sapphire Princess as well as a further 14 one-way itineraries on Sea Princess, Sapphire Princess and Majestic Princess. Fares start from NZ$2,319 per person twin share for the 14-night cruise to Southern and Eastern Explorer which departs Adelaide on November 16, 2020.
  • The 116,000-tonne Sapphire Princess will also sail to destinations including New Zealand, South Australia and Tasmania on a series of cruises from Melbourne and Sydney. Sapphire Princess will also sail on Princess Cruises’ much-loved Northern Explorer itinerary, taking holidaymakers from Melbourne to Fremantle via Darwin and the Kimberley region, with ports of call including the ship’s maiden visit to Eden. Fares start from NZ$2,219 per person twin share for the 13-night New Zealand cruise which departs Melbourne on October 28, 2020.
  • In addition to sailing South Australian itineraries, Sea Princess will homeport in Perth (Fremantle) to sail the Western Australian coastline from Broome to Albany, and longer voyages to South East Asia. Fares start from NZ$4,469 per person twin share for the 26-night Southeast Asia Grand Adventure cruise departing Perth (Fremantle) on January 11, 2021.